With the support of the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program, forward-thinking educators work with industry leaders on the most challenging workforce issues facing the nation.
The United States, as documented in numerous recent reports by professional organizations and the government, is at a pivotal point. Science and technology industries are critical sources of economic development. In order to continue as a world economic leader, the U.S. must improve mathematics, science, and technology education. It must also improve the skills of those employed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. It will not be enough to simply replace the large number of technicians who are reaching retirement age. To compete in global markets, the nation must improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its novice and incumbent technicians.
Technicians are essential workers. They are the men and women who carry out the processes that get products to market. They keep computer networks running and digital data secure. They are specialists whose skills, learning capacities, and adaptability to changing technologies affect the viability of individual companies and entire industries. In strategic fields such as agriculture, environmental technology, biotechnology, engineering technology, manufacturing, information technology, telecommunications, cyber security, and process technology, the education of technicians is of vital importance to the nation. Two-year colleges, primarily public community colleges, provide most of the postsecondary education available to technicians.
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